Sunday, November 30, 2003

A man died early Sunday morning after being in police custody. The information thus far shows no wrongdoing, but for some that will not matter. I hope the city increases police protection at the Council Meeting. There are calls for protests already from the Boycott B.

The FOP President went way overboard with his reaction. His comment "...that’s why they don't want to work..." sounds like conformation of the "slowdown" that occurred after the 2001 riots.

The "Real Life, Real News" initiative appears to be off the ground at the Enquirer. Will there be any hard news columns in the Metro Section anymore? The Enquirer appears to have let some columnists go, or at least reassigned them to other jobs. Denise Smith-Amos and Karen Gutiérrez are the two that come to mind most. Where are they? They are off the columnist roster and have not written for some time. With the retirement of Laura Pulfer there are really few columnists left at the Enquirer. Does this mean they have hired more reporters? Or have the former columnists become reporters? Even John Kiesewetter is no longer listed as an Enquirer Columnist.

The Opinion Page appears to have the most changes. I give you one conservative newspaper with a columnist line up like this:
Sunday – Richard Cohen and Walter Williams
Monday – Leonard Pitts Jr.
Tuesday – William Safire
Wednesday – Richard Cohen and Kathleen Parker
Thursday – William Safire
Friday – Charles Krauthammer
Saturday – James J. Kilpatrick and Kathleen Parker

So we have 10 total syndicated columnist spots in the Enquirer. 3 of those 10 spots are filled by "liberals." That would be 30% of the time for those keeping stats. Ah, yes, that would be fair and balanced for someone looking to provide a conservative editorial page.

Saturday, November 29, 2003

Reading the letters to editor of the Enquirer today demonstrates how people are suckered by PR. The letters gush in pride and pats on the back for Bush. What did he really do? He did nothing. He sneaked into the country and visited some troops at the Baghdad Airport. The country is far to dangerous for him to stay more than a few hours, let alone overnight.

I have no problem with Bush going. It is good for morale. It is traditional for Presidents to visit the troops on Thanksgiving in time of war. His dad did it during the First Gulf War. What I despise is the obvious use of it as a means of Public Relations. The purpose of this event was to change public opinion if favor of George Bush. This really was not about the troops. If this was about the troops, then I think Bush would have made an effort to see a whole lot more than just one small group at the airport.

The courage of our soldiers and their families show the spirit of this country in great adversity. And many citizens are showing their appreciation by helping military families here at home.

Members of the VFW have started an Adopt-A-Unit program, so veterans and their families can support military units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Volunteers from a group called Rebuilding Together have repaired homes for military families while their spouses are deployed.

Citizens interested in finding volunteer opportunities to support our military should visit the USA Freedom Corps website at usafreedomcorps.gov.

Why do civilians need to help the troops in the field? Why isn't the military taking care of their own soldiers and the immediate families of those soldiers?

I also want to point out this statement from Bush:

I'm pleased to report back from the front lines that our troops are strong, morale is high and our military is confident we will prevail.

Yes, I think Bush can state the troops are strong. What I don't think he can say from first hand experience that morale is high. Bush spent time with troops at one location for a couple of hours. Secondly, no troops is going to say anything to Bush other than that their morale is high. The troops know better and the military brass knows to filter who meets Bush.

I am just disgusted by how this trip is being trumpeted by the media and by Conservatives as something important or substantial. Nothing has changed. The situation of our troops has not changed at all. Iraq is not any better off than it was before. It was a nice symbolic gesture of the President to take this significant risk to fly into Iraq for 2+ hours. It might be more valuable for Bush to spend his time making it safe for him to spend the night in Baghdad.

CNN and FOX News have follow-up stories on the I-270 shootings. What will the gunman's nickname be? The panic may have begun already in Columbus. The UK's Sun gives the story the headline "Sniper on terror road." ITV asks: "Another American sniper case?"

The Postreported yesterday that City Manager Valerie Lemmie instructed Cincinnati police to begin a criminal investigation of the City's Community Development and Planning Department. This probe stems from the LaShawn Pettus-Brown/Empire Theater scandal, and appears to be bye-stepping possible roles played by Mayor Luken and Councilwoman Reece. If Lemmie wants to get to the bottom of things, why doesn't she request an FBI investigation into both Luken and Reece? The CPD will not be a credible agency to investigate their own ultimate bosses.

Queen City Forum got a huge plug today from the Enquirer. I will admit, I have never heard of their site before. I will have to look it over and will likely add the link to my site. I do have to criticize one part of their site without hesitation. They list a link called "THE FINEST COLLECTION OF NEWS & POLITICAL LINKS" on the site. If you go to that page you will view a nice list of links on news, political party, opinion, and reference sites. What you don't see, beyond a couple of exceptions, are blogs. Adding insult to injury, they recommend the "Drudge Report." Drudge is a up to speed on politics as my Aunt is on the working definition of "metrosexual." There are at least 50 blogs that nationally push political and current events debate in the country more than nearly any other source. They do that because all of the people who write the opinion columns on those pages, read those blogs.

Not to mention national blogs, but ahem, there are many locally based blogs that cover Cincinnati and Ohio politics, mine of course being one of them. Not to mention XRay Magazine, Cincinnati Tomorrow, and MediaBridges to name of few of news or local resources.

The writing on the site looks interesting. I welcome all of the local coverage of politics as much as possible. I have to ask the question, why can't we read a column like those written on the Queen City Forum in CinWeekly? Just one? Once in a while? A little political opinion, please?

Thursday, November 27, 2003

No, I am not referring to Ohio A&M fans. There has been a rash of gun fire along I-270 in the same general area which killed a woman this week. Police don't call it a sniper case yet, but there are signs that it might be. This is starting to garner some national attention, even today on Thanksgiving. I will be keeping my eye on this story. Each additional attack will increase the media coverage by a factor of 10. I hope the criminals responsible are caught before we are forced to see FOX News and the usual suspects up in Columbus scaring the OSU parents to death.

Sarah at The Hegemo points out a significant factual error in the Enquirer's editorial today on Nick Clooney. This sentence is just a bit wrong:

Jerry Springer was a TV anchor before becoming mayor of Cincinnati.

I hope David Wells is getting a bit of scolding from the bossman Tom Callinan. I think Sarah is correct when she posits that nearly everyone on the editorial page must be in vacation mode or already on vacation.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Ok, CinWeekly has a story on the Dubliner's Tuesday night Trivia. I just got back from participating in that event. Our team, "ToFurkey," had 411 points and placed 15th. This was a poor showing, but when you have a full round dedicated to drinks & beverages and a round matching philosophers to the name of one of their writings, our low score makes sense. The winning team had like 575 points. Last week our team had 432 points and I think we were in about 6th place.

The best advice in the story, Arrive Early! We had a back booth and were squeezed in.

Stephanie Dunlap reports on Delta Airline's conflicting benefits polices. Comair does not offer any domestic partnership benefits to homosexuals and does not have anti-homosexual discrimination protections. Comair's parent company, Delta, does have those benefits.

Comair is wholly owned by Delta, which goes above and beyond to demonstrate its commitment to diversity. Delta and its only other wholly owned subsidiary, Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), both offer domestic partner benefits and an anti-discrimination policy, as do most other "mainline" airlines and their wholly owned connection carriers, Stark says.

It is a very bizarre policy to have a different benefit plan for a wholly owned subsidiary. It is ultimately more work to administer, but likely Comair's benefits are not as good and therefore Delta would have to pay more money to bring them into the main plan. That plan merger would allow for bigger bargaining power with the larger volume of participants, but would it outweigh the increase costs of better coverage? I don't think the company is purposely out to stick it to homosexuals in the benefits arena, but I really wonder why they don't have an anti-homosexual discrimination policy? Who at the Delta HQ wants to screw with more lawsuits?

My only concern is that there is still some reliance on the old Kentucky network of social conservatism. Kentucky is not what I would call Gay friendly, and most of Comair workers are based there. Delta should have made its division comply with corporate policy a long time ago, it should get on the ball and bring them into line with a common policy in all major corporations.

Having lost most of its members as a result of anti-Semitic and homophobic rants, the CJC has lately specialized in picketing civil rights leaders, progressives and others who support the group's putative goal of police reform and racial justice in Cincinnati.

That might seem self-defeating, but it's entirely consistent with Livingston's modus operandi. For example, the protective order he was charged with violating had been initiated by fellow boycott leader Victoria Straughn, coordinator of Citizens Concerned for Justice.

"Someone" will surely not like Greg's comments. When a small number of people pretend to be a "large" group, any information to the contrary will surely be meet with childish vitriol. I will expect that this post will make it to the CJC's message board. "Someone" has taken to copying my posts to the CJC website and make it appear that I actually posted it there. I am sure the various posters to that board, most of which are the same "someone" under different screen identities, will call me names for bringing attention to Greg's column, but the truth needs to be said, and I am glad Greg is reporting it.

Former Nativity School principal Bob Herring was fired by church parish director Marc Sherlock Monday over "philosophical differences," according to an archdiocese official.

The story then describes how 200 protestors, mostly parents and students, lobbied to get Mr. Herring reinstated. Since when are "philosophical differences" a good enough reason for protestors to not come up with the "real" reasons this man was fired. What "philosophies" are in question here? I think something is missing here. There has to be more to this story than a philosophical difference to account for firing a principal during the school year.

Monday, November 24, 2003

I can't comment to much on this story, I was not there, but I have to quote this part:

"These organizations are recognizing that they have to build young audiences," said James Czar, manager of information systems with Enjoy the Arts/Start, an organization that promotes art among young people. "Their older member base is eventually not going to be there, so they need to repopulate it now."

I doubt Mr. Czar would call himself a hipster, but I find it interesting this gathering was considered one of "hipsters." I have a negative feeling for the word and I am still unsure if it can apply to anyone in Cincinnati. For the record the dictionary defines a hipster as "One who is exceptionally aware of or interested in the latest trends and tastes, especially a devotee of modern jazz." Now, m-w.com has a more historical feeling of a definition:

Pronunciation: 'hip-st&r
Function: noun
Etymology: 4hip
Date: circa 1941
: a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or the use of stimulants)

someone, usually a teenager or 20something, who adheres to a counterculture ranging from indy-rockers to neo-hippies to skaters. they tend to define themselves by the music they listen to, and the outlandish clothes they wear. hipsters are opposed to other countercultures like goths, metal-heads, and gangstas, and they also avoid preps, eurotrash, white trash, and jocks

question: why does he only listen to bands that are never played on the radio?
answer: he's a hipster

The Enquirer reports that the GOP has six possible candidates to run for County Commissioner against Todd Portune. The primary is coming up in March of next year, so the battle for money should be going on like a Thursday after Thanksgiving sale.

The real question is who will challenge Kabaka Oba to get the Democratic nomination to run for John Downlin's seat? John Cranley? Alicia Reece? Howard Bond?

The Democrats will be eating their own in the Race for Mayor of Cincinnati. Mark Mallory, David Pepper, and Alicia Reece are all talking about running for Mayor in 2005 as is the current Mayor, Charlie Luken. With an open primary, 2 or more Democrats could be on the ballot. That would be interesting.

Ken Lucas will not seek re-election, but Nick Clooney is running in his place. Nick's candidacy will surely garner a lot of attention because he is the father of George Clooney. George has slowly been dipping his toes in the water of political advocacy; I wonder how involved he will be in his dad's campaign.

Sunday, November 23, 2003

This report from WCPO indicates that Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk was told about allegations of sexual abuse sometime between 1988 and 1994. If he knew about these allegations, why is Pilarczyk getting away with this?

The FBI is investigating anti-war protestors. Will the summer of 2004 election season make 1968 look like a picnic? I once again will predict there will be violence, to some degree or another, at the national political conventions next summer. Also from Reuters.

Friday, November 21, 2003

I cannot tell you how many times or how many people have said that to me over the last year. But they were not talking about a serial rapist, or a multiple murderer, or the vicious rioters who brought our city to its knees.

They were talking about one of the most respected and revered institutions in our county - the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Mr. Allen's failure is exemplified by not answering the plea from the public who wanted "them" to be held accountable, instead he went after "it." Allen let individual priests who knowingly protected rapists and molesters go unpunished, not even releasing a list of names of those who were involved. He did this to help keep civil lawsuits from being filed against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Mike Allen stated that his office was confident that there were no priests active in Archdiocese of Cincinnati who has been accused of wrong doing as part of this scandal. He failed to assure the public by not considering two important questions:

1. Are any priests (or other staff) who have been accused of wrong doing active in any capacity in ANY church or organization ANYWHERE in the world that involves interaction with children?

2. Are any priests (or other staff) who knew about or covered up any wrong doing still active in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati?

If those questions were answered, I missed it.

The media coverage locally has been heavy, but restrained. The Enquirer has covered many angles of the story, but failed to raised or at least report the questions I asked. I figured if the crime was any other organization those questions would have been asked, investigated, and reported. In Cincinnati, a Catholic stronghold, the Enquirer knows its place and knows not to push the limits on criticism on the local Catholic Church and its leaders. The Enquirer editorial especially reeked of hollow repudiation of the Catholic Church and seemed to shift all of blame to the "tiny minority of pedophile priests to victimize so many." Read it Here: Editorial, Wells Column, Story1, Story2, Story3, and Story4.

Mike McConnell from WLW took a much more strong stance against the church. He refered to Mike Allen's attitude towards the Catholic Church as a "bow down respect," where it gets 1,000 times the usual benefit of the doubt. Mike, a life long catholic, even stated that he would not attend a church in the Cincinnati Archdiocese until Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk resigns.

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Reports are coming all over that the Prosecutor Mike Allen has made a deal with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk is beating the rap. There were several scenarios where Pilarczyk was potentially guilty of covering up multiple felonies. I think Mike Allen has let down the public. He should have gone forward with a full prosecution of specific priests for the cover-up of known rape and molestation incidents. Slapping the wrist of the church is about as harsh a treatment as Enron is getting. It is ironic that the plea agreement that is out there is being referred to as the "Flynt plea." Mike McConnell came up with the idea that is should be called the "Flynt-Pilarczyk plea" from no one. It is surreally that a church would basically admit to breaking the law. That is a blow to it stature in this city. It will be interesting how they will ever be able to preach on "morality" again without being laughed out of pulpit.

Reading Peter Bronson makes me wonder, Does he wear a Kaiser Bill moustache? Would he have voted to convict Scopes? Has Peter ever though about how ignorant he sounds?

You can say marriage is defined by God or biology. Defying either one is just asking for trouble.

Peter, marriage was created by MAN. No Gods were involved, and biology was not a factor. Marriage was created to reduce or stem conflict between tribes and between competing suitors. Marriage is a social contract.

You skirted around your opinions here and it is most sickening. Why don't you just make your bigotry clear so everyone can be sure? You don't want gays accepted or respected or treated equal because of your religion and your religiously rationalized views on what is "biologically natural."

I have news for you Peter. Your religion has no place in law. I hope you know this, and I wish you would accept it. Also some news for you, a Penis and Anus, and a tongue and Vagina are all biologically natural. You are just homophobic. You fear gays. I don't think you fear lesbians, but that is likely a whole different story.

Get specific on what is wrong is with Gay Marriage or even Civic Union. What harm will it cause and HOW will that possibly happen? Nothing much would change. Those gays living together now would still be living together if they were married. The only difference is that they would be in a more stable relationship.

You bring up the "children." Oh, it is always about the children. Peter, why don't you just say it: you fear kids might be "turned" gay. Get off the stupid bigoted myths. Homosexuality does not rub off on you. Peter you sound like an anti-miscegenationist from 1922 or 1952 or 1962. It is disgusting to hear you relegate a group of human beings to a sub-class.

I would hope that those who fear gays so much might seize on a compromise. Try out Civil Unions and tell me what is wrong with those? If you find something wrong, I challenge you to tell me what is wrong beyond your trite religious dogma.

I am not a fan of Eminem, but the folks at Source Magazine seem to be gunning for him. How do they really think he is a racist? The guy records some racially offensive slurs after he breaks up with this black girlfriend. (Yes, his black girlfriend) This makes him a "racist?" A white man who dates black women is a racist? I guess once again the term "racist" is being twisted, or redefined. I will remember that the next time I hear "cracker" used on 1230 the Buzz.

A White rapper is infringing on the "black man's" world, so he must be taken down, I guess. From this article it sounds like the guys from the Source are the ones who are "racist." This quote I think is filled with what some might call code words:

"Bringing this tape to the public is the latest chapter in The Source magazine's ongoing effort to expose influences corrupting hip-hop, including racism."

Who or What is corrupting hip-hop one might ask? I think the folks from the Source would say: "White Culture" or just "The White Man." I wonder how much they are rooting out racism in hip-hop directed toward non-blacks.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

The CANDLES Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana was victim to arson and bigoted vandalism. "Remember Timmy McVeigh" was written on a wall of the museum. This is terrorism. This story is getting limited coverage. Tabloid stories like the Scott Peterson Trial and the police search of Michael Jackson's ranch are getting the cable news coverage.

CANDLES stands for "The Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors."

Monday, November 17, 2003

I was just reviewing the 2000 vote totals for President in Hamilton County and they are not what one would have thought. I would have guess that Hamilton County would lean 60/40 Conservative to Liberal. What happened was significantly closer than that.

This makes me realize one big factor; Hamilton County is by far the most "liberal" of all of the surrounding counties. Bush got over 60% of the vote in all surrounding counties. I wonder how the city gets the conservative flack when outside the 275 loop has the bulk of the hardcore conservatives. I guess the local conservative control on nearly everything with an iron fist methodology keeps us liberals quiet.

The Business Courier is reporting that Councilman John Cranley is "pondering" a run against John Dowlin for Hamilton County Commissioner in next year's election.

Is it to soon for John to move on? His showing in the recent council race was fairly good, but council's reputation in the rest of the county is horrid, and he one of main faces getting press from council. He did well against Chabot back in 2000, but is there enough support? I guess John's support of the Elkington "Plan" will be a top priority with all of the extra time he will have next year running for office again.

Well, I did not deliver on the level of coverage I had hoped to provide. I was able to attend two sessions on Friday and only my own session on Saturday. I attended the Minority Voices in the Media and the Art of the Interview sessions on Friday. I was impressed with Kathy Wilson. I disagree with many of her stances, but she is really good in this kind of setting.

The most interesting element of the event was Kathy Y. Wilson's revelation that she was asked to take over Laura Pulfer's column a few years back. She obviously turned that down. This I am sure is old news to some, but was news to me.

My session on blogs and webzines went fairly well. I was not a total idiot, but I was not very well spoken. I hope everyone got something from it, but I am not sure if I provided much. I think the time was limited to the point where we did not have a ton of time to answer questions. I guess our presentations went on too long.

I was shocked to read that there was a theft of a camera and TV monitor. That sucks. It sucks that someone had to ruin a good event. I hope this theft does not put a damper on this event, and it is able to grow bigger next year.

UPDATE: In my haste to post this, I failed to comment on Stacey Recht and Amy Eversole's "The Art of the Interview" Session. I was impressed at how prepared Stacey and Amy were. Stacey especially had everything organized, including an excellent web page with examples of interviews she had gotten previously as well as a full audio recording of the session. I myself am not good at interviewing people, so I learned quite a bit on the best practices for giving interviews. If you listen carefully you might hear my questions on the audio recording.

The Post reports that there will be a recount in the Cincinnati Council race because it fell with in the statutory requirements, where David Crowley beat Damon Lynch for the last seat by 738 votes. The Norwood Mayor's race, which was decided by only 24 votes still did not meet the .5% threshold for an automatic recount. Challenges can still be made, but the challenger might bear the expense of such a challenge.

The more interesting news from the story was that two difference races ended up in ties locally. One was the Lincoln Heights council race were two people were tied for the third seat. If the recount does not change the vote, then a coin toss will choose the winner. The other was an income tax issue that ended in a tie. If that tie is not broken the increase will fail. I can't find in Ohio law how ties are handled, so I will have to take the Post's word for it.

Friday, November 14, 2003

I will be providing coverage of the 2003 Indy Media Expo tonight and tomorrow from Media Bridges in Downtown Cincinnati. It is not to late to attend. Just show up and you should have no problem attending most sessions. For more information check out XRay Magazine.

Well, no one can prove much of anything from the analysis of the traffic stop data made public today. One point that this story reports sums up one conclusion that was missed from the beginning:

Scott Greenwood, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said the report wasn't intended to provide the yes-or-no answer many Cincinnatians have looked for since the 2001 riots put police-community relations at the top of the city's agenda.

"The issue is not, and never has been, whether white officers deliberately discriminate against African-American motorists out of racial animus," he said. "The discussion is whether race is used inappropriately - at whatever level - in policing decisions."

The bold was added for emphasis. I think this point is not clear to most people. The ACLU never claimed there was a "racist" plot to target blacks. I think some of the folks on the Buzz should be reporting this fact and not do what I think they were doing this afternoon, which had been a bit of race bating. Jay and Emmanuel are in my opinion pushing their unsubstantiated claims that the real problem is racism. This report clear proves one thing. There is not a grand "Elder/KKK" plot to target blacks in this city. If there was a huge plot, one might think the numbers would show this grand plot without question.

The positive quote from the article that I hope everyone read and strives to keep as a reality

Other findings suggested no unequal treatment: Stop durations were almost identical, after factoring in that vehicles driven by African-Americans were more likely to have more passengers. Black and white motorists were equally likely to have their cars searched, and the probability of finding drugs or guns was almost identical.

If this element was not reasonably balanced, then we would have a real problem.

I wonder why people in Damon Lynch's camp wanted this keep under wraps before the election? Is it because the report was not the smoking-gun they hoped for and the lack of a zinger to hit the police with would have been a political blow to his campaign?

UPDATE: Wholly Shit. Did the Post read the same report? If you read their story we are headed towards a race war. What gives? I can't find the actually report online yet.

Thursday, November 13, 2003

I have to tip my hat to the Alabama Supreme Court and State Attorney General for upholding the rule of law and removing Chief Justice Ray Moore from office. Theocracy has taken a small blow and I am very thankful. I wish people would stop following his brand of religious politics, but this will froth up the fundamentalists into a stupor worthy of Benny Hinn.

All I can say it that the game was damn cold! I am glad we had a blanket, but I wish I had worn gloves. This victory was extra special for Miami Fans. Winning the MAC East with a win over Marshall is sweet revenge for years of falling short to them. Miami is almost a cinch for a bowl game this year, no matter if they win the MAC Championship game or not. I am one proud alumnus today.

Wes Flinn comments on the letter I referenced yesterday by bring up the Showtime "Movie" DC 9/11: Time of Crisis. How much of this contained "factual" quotes? How much was the content fictionalized to provide a clear theme to fit the overall concept of the movie, or just something more entertaining? Based on all accounts there were many historical facts left out of this production and surely some that Bush does not want known for various reasons. Some of those missing facts are being sought by Congress in its attempt to investigate the 9/11 intelligence, with little assistance from the Administration.

Where's the outrage on the Bush Movie? How many quotes were not valid? Why did Viacom let this on the air if it was not absolutely true? Hmm... ya think it might have just been a movie, and most people did not care about it? I guess the all-powerful "liberal media" was sleeping when that movie was made.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Kathy Y. Wilson takes us on journey through her past. Kathy looks inside CityBeat with a harsh insight:

We've gotten fat and lazy since EN packed it in. It's almost like we're sometimes in a diabetic haze. We're sweet on ourselves, and our sweet tooth is rotting.

I think CityBeat could use a kick in the ass, but I don't know if Kathy and I would agree on what that would be. I would say CityBeat needs a group blog. This was my advice for CinWeekly, but they will get to it once it can make money. CityBeat might try it and use it to build a national web presence that could augment the publication. Just a thought, but I think "professional group blogs," like the Dallas Mornings News has, will become a standard structure of every newspaper in the country.

Syndicated columnist Tom Teepen ["Conservatives new playground bully," Nov. 7] and other liberal columnists are going quite mad over the way CBS dropped the highly slanted The Reagan movie when the network got caught bending the truth. What if I were to make a documentary on Margaret Sanger or Martin Luther King, Jr., and include a few dozen quotes that they never said?

I have to ask my neighbor Andrew Bartmess of Mount Washington, did he watch the Jessica Lynch story? Did he watch the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!? Did he see Thirteen Days? Does Mr. Bartmess believe those movies included a few dozen quotes never said by Jessica Lynch, Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, or JFK? The Reagan movie was not a documentary. Drama always makes stuff up. I also wonder were Mr. Bartmess learned there were "a few dozen quotes" Reagan never said in the movie. There has been a complaint over one quote about Reagan's views on gays and AIDS. There is not proof that I have seen that Reagan comments were totally made up. Now, it is likely that since a large part of the movie is about the person conversation of Nancy and Ron, it is likely those comments were made up. The funny thing is, it is a movie. Movies are dramatic representations of a writer's story. I hope the Reagan flock will get over this, or better yet, start getting pissed whenever someone on talk radio repeats lies about Clinton, Carter, or JFK over and over again.

In the Conceal-Carry debate I have still not heard my question asked: What about the rights of property owners? Does the right of a gun owner to carry his gun supersede that of the property owner's to keep guns off their property? Who has the burden of checking the guns at the door or keeping them out? If I own a string of food chains don't I have the right to keep guns out of my establishments? Why does the burden fall on me to keep the guns out? Do I have to install metal detectors to achieve this or does the right of a gun owner out weigh mine as the owner of a restaurant?

I myself do not want any conceal-carry law. If you want to intimidate people, strap it on your leg like John Wayne would. If you feel the need to carry a gun, I do not want to be near year, so why not let me know you are a marked man by wearing your gun out in the open. This fits in much better with the old west mentality that I think is at work here. A concealed weapon was a scoundrel's means of getting an edge. Why do the "righteous" gun nuts want to walk around with secret under their coat?

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Allegations have been made that one of the questions at last week's "Rock the Vote" debate on CNN was planted by someone at CNN. The question was about which type of computer the candidates prefer, PC or MAC. This story has many irrational elements to it, for instance, if they person had a different question to say, why did they use the one they were asked to use? Why not say screw CNN and ask her own question? Was the person so eager to be on TV that they were willing to say what ever CNN wanted?

The alleged reasons for this question to be used was her other question was not "lighthearted." If this is true I see a small trend in the media growing: editors think people under 35 are shallow and stupid. What else could explain the introduction of CinWeekly?

The best jibe was their page 14-15 story entitled "Good, Clean Election Fun" (story not online), a play on Cin's tag line "Good Clean Fun." The montage of pictures from election day that remind one of the Cinscene photos from CinWeekly. The difference between the two photo spreads, you ask? One is of a NEWS event; the other is not in anyway a news event. Except if you think Backstreet Boy Nick Carter being at Club Clau is news. If you think that is news, then I hope you don't breed.

Sunday, November 09, 2003

If you have any interest in how the indie media works or starting your own media outlet then you need to go the IME 2003 on November 14th and 15th.

The second annual Independent Media Exposition will be held at Media Bridges in downtown Cincinnati during the second week of November. The Expo brings the public and mass media together under the same roof to increase media literacy, encourage citizen participation in media and promote the diverse, unique media landscape in Cincinnati and beyond. The Expo features a 16 different sessions over two days, covering DIY Publishing, Web zines, Net Radio, Minority Voices in the media, the Radical Media and a whole lot more.

Ok, I watched it. I normally steer clear of all made for TV movies, but I was a sucker for the hype. I also caught 60 Minutes earlier tonight which had an interview with Pfc. Patrick Miller who was part of the 507th Maintenance Company. According to the story from 60 Minutes Miller was the hero of the day, saving Lynch's and several other's lives through his actions. The movie did not reflect his statements on what happened when they were captured. His story sounds much more dramatic and heroic than was portrayed in the movie. I wonder where the outrage is with this TV movie's failure to depict "reality." If it is good for the "Gipper" isn't it good for a real war hero?

Saturday, November 08, 2003

I am going nuts with the intrusive advertisement from Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell on the Websites for the Enquirer and the Post. The ad is for Blackwell's politcal movement to repeal the recent Ohio Sales Tax increase.

Here are some simple facts people should keep in mind when viewing this.

1. Ken Blackwell is a Republican.
2. The Republican's control the entire Ohio State Government, both houses of the Assembly and the Governorship.
3. The Republican controlled Assembly and the Republican Governor controlled the process to raise the sales tax.
4. Ken Blackwell is positioning himself to run for Governor in few years. He will face GOP competition for the nomination so he is getting his name out there early, without declaring for office.

The advertisement is so annoying because it plays an audio and video message whenever you load up a section page from either newspaper site. I don't fault ads, the paper needs them, but I really don't like having to hear it every time I load their site. I would prefer the ad to not run automatically.

Friday, November 07, 2003

Josh Marshall has released his winners for the "imminent threat contest" where he sought quotes from the Bush Administration and their Hawk supporters. Josh sums up the problem with the "imminent threat" debate with this paragraph:

Yet, as I said in The Hill on Wednesday, their argument is really just a “crafty verbal dodge — sort of like ‘I didn’t accuse you of eating the cake. All I said was that you sliced it up and put it in your mouth.’”

Yep, he didn't say those words, "imminent threat." Bush sold the war on that basis of the claim that there was an impending threat from Iraq that could strike us at any moment. Now, that is imminent in my book.

The battle of exact words is not really the meat of this criticism. Bush's problem is that he believed we faced danger from Iraq's WMD. Now when I say danger, I mean that the WMD could be used on the USA at some point in the not to distant future, from the next five minutes to the next few years. Now, in reality we did not face any more danger from Iraq's WMD than we did from our own WMD. The question left unanswered is did Bush know this. What information did he base his conclusion that we were in danger from Iraq's WMD? From what is being reported the only verified information that Iraq even possessed any WMD was that there was not a complete accounting of the WMD Iraq claimed to have after Gulf War I. So an incomplete accounting is the basis of the threat? This is where Bush mislead the public. He and members of his administration regularly said that Iraq possessed WMD. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld even stated we know were they were. I think it is clear that no one in the administration knew where the weapons where, because they had no good evidence that Iraq still had any.

This reality brings on one of two probable conclusions. 1. Bush or those advising him knew all along that the WMD posed no significant threat to the USA, but used the fear of WMD to sell the war. 2. Bush got really really bad intelligence.

Bush I think in the campaign to justify his war will claim #2 and blame the CIA. That I think is evidence of poor character. Bush is the boss, and should take the heat for the people he leads.

I don’t know if #1 is valid, but I think that at least to a degree that it occurred. I think that people in the administration knew that WMD was not a significant threat to the USA, but they knew they could use the fear to bring along enough people to bring out the war they wanted. Now, the debate of why they wanted the war is a different question that has varied and unknown motivations that I don’t have enough information from which to draw a valid conclusion.

I believe the validity of the criticism lies in what is clear a fact to me, Bush mislead the country on the level of the threat of WMD. Everyday that we don’t find actual usable weapons of mass destruction in Iraq shows that either they are now in the hands of those we fear would get them if we did not go to war, or that none exists. If none exist, I just don’t see how anyone can claim Bush is not a deceptive person, who did one of the worst things a President can do, provide misleading or false reasons for going to war.

I had to dig out the dictionary to understand the title of Maggie Downs' column this week. I usually can get most words I don't know from their context, but I don't know what I was thinking today. The word I did not know, "aural", means "of or relating to the ear or to the sense of hearing" which makes perfect sense in the context now that I know what the word means. I guess using "sex" in the title of a Enquirer column just threw me for a loop. I am surprised that Peter Bronson has not resigned for this obviously "perverse" allusion. Phil Burress will soon be getting a hundred phone calls about the "porn filled pages" of the Enquirer. "It's that Maggie Downs again, Phil," Betty Cornblough might say to Phil Burress of the CCV, "She printed that Flynt kid's story and now she has mentioned the word 'sex' in the title of her column. How can we stop this?"

Ok, Ok, Ok I jest. I am just trying to figure out a good way for not knowing what a word meant. I am attempting to use the Chewbacca defense, but I am failing, and failing big. Breaking out the dictionary feels like admiting you don't know something, and for know-it-all writers like myself, that can be a slight ego deflator.

Thursday, November 06, 2003

I did not know Peter Bronson could really go this low. He manages to bring Bill Clinton into a column about local politics. Why does Peter at least come up with new lexicon. "Clintonesque sex scandal" is rather trite. Nixonian has had time to work up to a word that has real meaning. Clintonesque is forced. Peter is projecting his hate again. The Clenis™ is something that I think Peter will never stop pursuing. His "Quest" taints his columns far more than his ideological bent. It is almost a sickness. I wonder if any shrinks have written papers on it?

Most of what I blog about tends to be criticism. I will sometimes point out interesting writing from another blogger, or an interesting newspaper article. Everything else is rebuttal. I find that I tend to not want to comment on things I was entertained by. Things that make me think are much easier to discuss than items that were just humorous, without any political or social overtones. Now that the local political season has ended, I will try to write about other topics. I have to admit that I have had enough of following the elections. The blog will not be void of politics, but I will try and mix it up a bit, break in new ideas, and challenge myself to write better. If I go off on a few limbs in the coming weeks, then I apologize ahead of time.

You say Smither, I say Man, Smither-Man the newest council-man. Chris Smitherman has won. I had him at the 11th place, but his 7th place was a big upset. Sam Malone is a bigger shock to me. I had him well out of the running and he beat one sitting councilman.

The big loser was Councilman Chris Monzel. His big war chest was not enough.

Damon Lynch came really close. He ran a brilliant campaign. He backed off his more aggressive style and thanks to the advice of Gene Galvin he toned down the vitriol to a more mass appeal rhetoric. There will be a few fledgling conspiracy theories that will no doubt surface on WDBZ tomorrow.

I was disappointed with Nick Spencer's showing. I thought he would at least hit 15th place, but I think the low turnout killed his chances.

More proof that FOX News is biased, the above story was "Breaking News" on their website. This reminds me of the time Nancy Reagan received an award in D.C. for a charity event of some type on a Saturday night. FOX covered her remarks live. Yes, LIVE. This was not while she was first lady; this was a couple of years ago. FOX News did not exist while she was first lady. Damn, if you think the propaganda at FOX is bad under Bush, just think how bad it would have been under Reagan.

I can't wait until the next time Primary Colors airs on TV. With all of this outrage, I expect the Clinton based drama will get these same folks all in a frenzy. Oh….., wait….., they won't? They are only pissed because it is their dear leader who is not depicted in a manner in keeping with their fantastic ideals?

If you don't vote, you don't get to bitch about the idiots who will get elected. I am sticking with my predictions made in last week's VigPol. I will predict that 1 of the 8 incumbents will not make it back on. The three who might not get back on are Cole, Monzel, and Tarbell. I think one of the three will not make it back on. I think Lynch needs one of the three not to get back on, otherwise he will not win.

Check out GoXRay.com late this afternoon and all evening. We are planning on providing some running coverage of what is going on. I will be on here as well with commentary and last minute predictions as the night wears on. Be sure to watch the Miami vs. BGSU football game tonight on ESPN2 while you follow the election on the web.

Good Luck to all Candidates, it should be a great day, so no one as an excuse not to vote.

Monday, November 03, 2003

If you think Katie Couric is the queen of intellectual discourse, then this is your weekly. It is disposable. It has a shelf life of no more than one week, and that is being generous. I have no reason to actually keep a copy around. I don't know if there are even any accessible archives, but I guess there is nothing much to blog, so I don't imagine I will need an archive.

Now that I have told you how much I love it, let me get specific with problems:

Opinion: Does anyone at CinWeekly have an opinion? I mean an opinion on something beyond the fluff. I don't mean a top ten list. I don't mean the opinion on a movie, rock concert, or restaurant. I mean an opinion on a topic of political/social/economic significance to the city/state/region. I was hoping there would be someone writing an individual column with something of substance. For example, something with topics that Kathy Y. Wilson, Maureen Dowd or even Peter Bronson might write about. I figured they might want an ounce of credibility, but intellectualism (even a little bit) is not going to make them any money. Their market demographic is what drives their content. If you like to think about something other than wall paper patterns or seeing the latest Hollywood feature length commercial, then this is not your weekly.

Milquetoast: This publication reminds of the "prefab four," the Monkeys. To my younger readers, think "Boy Band," a group manufactured to market products. CinWeekly is 88 pages of advertisements. Even the stories are selling something, whether it be the latest movie, music, local event, or activity. There is not any "news" in what was originally considered to be a "newspaper." This is not a newspaper. This is People Magazine meets the Yellow Pages. Bland as Velveeta, tame as a dead cat.

Native Snobbery: My impression overall of the first issue was one of what I call "Native Snobbery." The tone was illustrated by the "quiz" where they ask "Think you're a 'true' Cincinnatian?" I took this test semi-seriously. Now, I know it was meant as fun, but I only got a score of 5 and I have lived in Cincinnati for 9 years, and I have been in South West Ohio for 13 years. I am not ignorant of this city, but as an “outsider,” I don’t totally fit in. This confirms a big problem here in Cincinnati. If you were not born here, or lived in the area since you were a child, then you are an outsider. You are not treated poorly, you just are never as close of a friend as one who grew up here. This is not unique to Cincinnati, but it seems to take on an increased meaning with the structures of the institutions around here and the dislike of difference. Outsiders are different, to one degree or another. I would have hoped that this publication would appeal to those who are new to town and don't know as much. Instead, I felt like they were saying "Here is how a real Cincinnatians acts. Eat this, watch this, listen to this, think like this. You will comply or be buried under a giant 3-way, which is on sale now at your local Skyline."

Anything Good? Well there are a few things. It looks nice. I am not big on how publications look, but this one is not horrible. The website is functional. It has too much going on and buries the content in favor of advertised listings, but that is user friendly. The writing is not bad, but the topics are just mundane. Good Housekeeping breaks more ground.

This is only the first issue, and it will take time for these folks to find a voice that will be credible. At this point it lack credibility. It is meant for the suburbanite. The city loses out again as Gannett ignores people who are not looking for the bland picket fence life, or as it is today: the cul-de-sac life. Minority issues are not well represented. You would not even know there were gay people in town if you read this publication. I guess they don't want to piss anyone off anyone in the CCV, so their religion listings are not mixed with any of the Northside bars.

I look for improvement. I can be optimistic. I am a cynic at heart, so it is very very difficult. I wish there was something that would appeal to me. I know I am not the normal consumer they are trying to reach. I like to think. I like to read. I like to learn something new about the city and the world that does involve having to buy or consume something. I don't see this publication as something impacting society in a positive way. I hope that can change.

I also wonder how many of those lovely pink CinWeekly boxes line the streets of OTR. I would bet, not many, if any.

Interesting article from Maggie Downs: youth volunteers for political campaigns. Many local schools are requiring students in certain classes to participate in a political campaign of their choice. This is a great idea, as long as any candidate or issue was allowed to fill the requirement. I have seen some of these kids out on the streets and it is a great experience for them to learn and understand how the political process works. I hope all of the kids take advantage of joining the campaign parties on election night. That was something I experienced as a teenager and found to be exciting.

I had to laugh at this paragraph on Cincinnati Councilman John Cranley's efforts to get young people to work for his campaign:

"It's always good when you get a lot of boys and girls there, because they show up for the social aspect," he said. "Obviously, I'm also a younger candidate, so that's a big selling point, too. But we really go out of our way to make people feel welcome in the campaign."

Hmm, somehow being a younger candidate is something the Postfound to be a problem for Nick Spencer. A difference in perspective can often show you an angle no one else can or wants to see.

On Wednesday, proponents of marriage began before the Family Law Committee at the Statehouse. It's amazing that we've reached a point where marriage actually needs to be legally defined. I urge all who care about our future to actively support H.B.272 (Defense of Marriage Act). Call your state representative and urge others to do the same.

The strength of this country is not and never has been our diversity, but diverse people forming strong families, striving for common goals and values. The traditional family has always been the backbone of American society.

Many of us tolerate the decadence around us for fear of being judgmental. Bishop Fulton Sheen once said, "America is not suffering from intolerance. It is suffering from tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so much overrun with the bigoted as it is with the broadminded. In the face of this broadmindedness, what the world needs is intolerance."

We need to heed his words and start fighting to save our culture.

Claudia Bihl, Franklin Furnace, Ohio

Well Ms. Bihl, if your culture is one that seeks to superimpose your religious teaching on everyone in Ohio by defining Marriage in religious terms, then I think you should keep your theocratic culture to yourself. How is your marriage going to be affected by someone else's marriage? Why don't you worry about yourself, and let other's marry who they want without the state choosing for them? The Bile Ms. Bihl supports in the "Defense of Marriage Act" seeks not to defend marriage, but to shut marriage off from those her and her fellow Christian fundamentalists (evangelicals too) find decadent.

I really want to know why bigots like Ms. Bihl are against homosexuals. What beyond their religious dogma instigates their belief? Fear? Ignorance? I think that sums up most of what it all about, but their indoctrinations leave no room to see it point of view of the homosexual. Gays and Lesbians are people, just like everyone else, minus one small difference. They have the same emotions, same desires, and same beliefs as heterosexuals. Why not let them marry? Specifically how does it hurt anyone? I am not hurt if someone who I don't know gets married. Why do people like Claudia Bihl care who other people marry, other people they don't know and likely never will know?

Korte also reported that Mayor Luken will run again for Mayor. Luken confirmed he will run again in 2005 while appearing on the Lincoln Ware TV call in show. This will likely piss off both David Pepper and Alicia Reece, but make Pat DeWine ecstatic.

Here is what Greg Korte reports about who the writer of the "Wille McTell" email (attacking candidate Nick Spencer) to local media outlets, including myself.

It's difficult to prove who's behind the attack, but the e-mail holds some clues: the author is about Spencer's age, probably works at City Hall, is involved in the local music scene and has a political ax to grind.

And he's a fan of country-blues singer Blind Willie McTell.

Let's reason this down based on Korte's information. My sources indicate there are 3 camps in City Hall with an ax to grind against Nick Spencer.

David Pepper's camp: David was alleged to be upset with one of Nick's answers to a CityBeat survey asking what council member you would most want to see to replaced. Nick chose Pepper. This is the only issue between the two that is known. It seems unlikely that anyone in Pepper's camp would worry about the Spencer campaign or any other campaign. Pepper is going to be reelected and likely will win the most votes. I doubt it came from his office.

Mayor Luken's camp: The Mayor's camp was presumably not pleased with Spencer's opposition to the John Elkington hiring. Nick played a key role in pushing the opposition to Elkington's participation in the Main Street redevelopment plan. Brendan Cull's name, the mayor's chief of staff, has been thrown about as a possible suspect. The problem with it being from the Mayor's office is that there was nothing to gain from doing it. The only reason for doing it would be out of personal spite. I doubt it came form his office, but I can't rule it out.

John Cranley's camp: Cranley has been in a feud with Nick Spencer for several weeks now over the Elkington issue. Nick and John have been going toe to toe on this issue and their rivalry has been all over the pages of the newspapers. Of the 3 camps mentioned, Cranley's would be the most upset with Spencer. What would they have to gain by smearing him? Well, personal spite would be my main guess, but Cranley has been helping out the campaign of Laketa Cole. Cole is seen as being a solid candidate but is not a lock for office like Cranley. Spencer votes eat into some of Cole's. It logically makes some sense that Cranley camp's cause would gain with damage to Spencer. If I was a betting man I would bet someone in Cranley's camp sent the emails. I wonder if Elliot Ruther knows anything about it.

I have no proof that any of the camps listed had anything to do with it, but motives are a guide to find any perpetrator.

Saturday, November 01, 2003

WB64 News at Ten is coming finally in December. It looks like it will suck. By sucking I mean it will be local TV news, ratings driven entertainment with a dash of news. It will be mostly run by the Sinclair Broadcasting "network" news home base in Baltimore, Maryland.

Channel 19 News is 10 Years Old: They can be entertaining, but they lack the experience of the other 3 organizations. They all suck worse than month old milk, but the tabloid feel on 19 is stronger than the big 3. The whole anniversary blitz was really self-aggrandizing. It just reminds me how green behind the ears their news department is.

Face for Radio?: Lincoln Ware from 1230 the Buzz has his own TV show. I missed last Sunday's premier, but I will be getting up in time tomorrow to check it out. It airs every Sunday at 10AM on WBQC UPN-25 which in the city is only available over the air at that time of day. WBQC is reportedly moving to channel 38 soon. It was supposed to happen at the end of the October, but as of today it has not yet changed.

I am still working on my CinWeekly review. I will have it out I promise before the issue is out, but I should get it done tomorrow.

I for one am glad the Mike Hall retired as a Principal of Anderson High school. Peter Bronson seems to be wetting himself in his homage to a fellow conservative bible thumper.

For the Record, I don't know this man. I did not go to High School in the area, but if Peter's characterizations of Hall's education beliefs are correct, I am jumping for joy that he is out of the Public School System. A principal who says he will only allow a state sponsored sex-education in his school over his dead body, has no business in the job. If High school kids are mature enough to be tried as adults in capital murder cases, then they are surely mature enough to know that learning how to use a condom correctly will not want them to go right out and buy them. High schools kids are going to have sex whether they are told to or not. Trying to think otherwise is just idiotic, and well, since the idea stems from conservatives like Peter Bronson and Mike Hall, I think the basis for it being characterized as idiotic stands for itself.